Maal, the Dark Horse
|years= ~100 |rank= Commander |campaign= *The Great War (Combine/Valdrin/Kaniros) *The Combine-Imperium War *Battle of Våsasund |affiliations= GGN Tvest Longbow The Military Board |occupation= Tectonian Commander |theme=Super Nova Battle (Dark Horse) }}Commander Maal, as his title implies, is a Commander within the Tectonian military, and serves as the "poster boy" of it, though, unlike some other figureheads, he does actually serve in the field. His history before his service in the military, along with anything related to his personal life is non-existent, presumably purged from Tectonian databases at some point, so he effectively didn't even exist before his service in the military, leading into his nickname, "the Dark Horse". Some believe, due to his lack of history, that he is merely one of the Tectonian Military's many projects, and was deemed a success, according to his continued service and promotion in the military. This speculation is fervently denied by many upper echelon Officers of the military, however, causing some amount of confusion on the matter of his origins. He shows fierce and undying loyalty to the Longbow Administration, which likely contributes largely to his status as "poster boy", though other contributions would be his intelligence in multiple fields related to the military, and his skill in combat at any range, with nearly any weapon, all of these factors culminating to create the "Perfect Soldier", at least in accordance with Grand General Longbow, and the Military Board's vision of the gold standard. A majority of Tectonian Military propaganda involves Maal, as a result of all of this. Equipment/Abilities Armour HVCA Mk 1, "Dora" Set The first version of Maal's High Variablilty Combat Armor - affectionately named "Dora", by its creators - fielded by the Dark Horse himself, it is also the most recognizable due to the longevity of its use, and therefore its prominence in Tectonian propaganda centered around Maal. While it was highly advanced for its time at the beginning of its service, even with the many upgrades carried out on the set, it has been retired at long last for its successor, the HVCA Mk 2 Set, which is seen as far superior. Part of the reasoning why the set is so outdated is its materials, being simple titanium plating and nano-weave fabrics, and its OS, which has been far improved over the years, but has reached its limit of upgradability. While this Set is iconic, its retirement was long due, however, Maal will still hold possession of the Dora set indefinitely. HVCA Mk 2, "Arion" Set The second and currently used version of the HVCA armor, nicknamed "Arion" by Maal, is supposedly the most advanced set of armor that has been produced by Tecton, and is one of a kind, personalized to its wearer, only to be reproduced in the event that the original set is destroyed. Possibly the most unique part about the armor is the presence of a Telekinetic Enhancement Unit (TEU), also the first of its kind, and a venture by Tecton's R & D Sector not taken in seemingly centuries, due to the lack of magic use in the Tectonian military. While the TEU does not increase his skill in Telekinesis, it expands his mana pool and enhances the range and strength of his telekinesis. The armor's plating is made of tungsten carbide, with carbon nanotube re-enforcement, while the lower layer is made up of a Ceramic Titanium alloy. The base of the suit is similar to the BINUs used by Tectonian infantry. The suit includes a host of various devices, including (but not limited to) bionics, which enhance his already immensely strong augmentations, a personal shield generator, a stealth package (including cloaking and other presence dampening implements), and a compact cold fusion generator to supply the suit with power. Its systems include an AI assistant, which mainly offers predictive simulations in combat, but also regulates power flow between all components to maximize effectiveness. For obvious security reasons, the Arion set is biometrically linked to Maal, and will not positively respond to any other beings attempting to wear it; It will lock the suit's bionics and essentially entome any unwanted wearers untill the suit is recovered by Maal himself or Tectonian athourities. Weaponry Abilities Telekenisis Category:Status: Alive Category:Characters Category:Non-Human